Healing Anew Way
by amartin120310
Summary: After the War of Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy leaves the country to do some soul searching. Upon arriving back in Britain two years later, he knows he needs to make amends with everyone he wronged, especially Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. He was surprised with their warm welcome and their offer to help him heal.
1. Chapter 1, Draco's Return

Chapter 1

Draco's Return

Draco Malfoy looked up at the sign for The Leaky Cauldron with trepidation. It had been some time since he had seen that sign, two years in fact. Draco pulled his jacket more tightly around him as the December breeze whipped down Diagon Alley. He took a small step towards the door but stopped abruptly. Through the window he could see Harry and Hermione sitting at a booth in the back. She was absentmindedly brushing her hair out of face and Harry was laughing at something she had said. They leaned their heads closer together and Harry gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

 _Well,_ Draco thought, _makes sense that they're together._ Draco took a deep breath, ducked his head and pushed through the door of the Leaky Cauldron. As soon as the door slammed behind him, Draco lifted his head and made eye contact with the man standing directly in front of him, Neville Longbottom. Neville gave a start when he recognized who was in front of him. His eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Neville spat out. His hands balled into fists and Draco took an involuntary step back. This was not the terrified boy that Draco remembered but a powerful man who looked ready to punch in Draco's skull. The music had stopped and no one in the room was moving.

"I'm just here to talk," Draco said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and holding them out. He tried to sidestep Neville but was stopped by Neville's fist colliding with his fast. Draco's head whipped around but he stayed on his feet. He could hear the other participants of the Leaky Cauldron cheering as he turned back to face his attacker. He could feel the blood trickle down his mouth. Neville went for his wand when a hand on his arm stopped him. Harry Potter stepped forward and Draco sensed the air deflate from the crowd.

"He's here to meet me, Nev," Harry said, looking up in his friend's eyes. Neville nodded once, put his wand back and walked away without another word. Harry turned his eyes to face Draco and Draco felt his pulse pound. He was face to face with his sworn enemy from childhood, the one who made his life hell and mocked him. And ultimately saved his life. Draco held out his hand. A slow smile spread across Harry's face. Everyone in the Leaky Cauldron had stopped moving and was blatantly staring at the two young men. Harry stepped forward and gripped Draco's hand with his right. Harry reached forward with his left hand and grasped Draco's shoulder. Draco slightly flinched at the unexpected touch but kept eye contact with Harry.

"Welcome home," Harry said. The crowd had what it needed and everyone went back to their lively conversations. Harry turned away and gestured for Draco to follow him to the booth where Hermione had patiently sat with a smirk on her face. She stood as Draco approached and held out her hand. Draco didn't pause and as he leaned forward to shake her hand, she leaned her face up and gave him a kiss on each cheek. His cheeks reddened as he pulled away but was glad when no one mocked him for it. Harry and Hermione squeezed in on one side of the booth as Draco took a seat across from them. Draco cleared his throat and put his hands on the table.

"Thank you both for responding to my owl as there are some things-" Draco stopped abruptly as a young woman walked up to the table. She scowled at Draco.

"Want anything?" she asked him. Draco looked down at his hands as he recognized her. It was Padma Patil. Draco had heard that her sister Parvati had died at the Battle of Hogwarts. His guilt swelled up again and he struggled to find the words to say to her. He felt someone hold his hand and looked up to see Hermione gazing at his sympathetically, her squeezing his firmly.

"We'll take another round of scotch, neat, please," Harry said across the table. Draco nodded approvingly. Hermione pulled back her hand and reached into her robes. Draco stiffened when she brought out her wand and pointed it at him.

"Reparifors," she said and Draco felt the small cut on his mouth heal. It still felt a little tender but he knew the bleeding had stopped. Padma came back and passed out the scotch. Everyone was silent until she walked away.

"Draco," Hermione said, "We know it was difficult for everyone. Voldemort is a master of manipulation and I just want you to know that we," at this she gestured to Harry and herself, "do not blame you for anything." Draco gave a small smile.

 _She's giving me an opening,_ he thought. And the words began to pour out. Draco talked about the brutal reign of his father and the pressure to keep the Malfoy line strong. He spoke about following in his father's footsteps as a Death Eater and how he was used as a pawn by Voldemort. Harry and Hermione listened patiently as Draco absentmindedly rubbed his left arm. He spoke about his fear at the Battle of Hogwarts and the shame he felt as everyone fell apart.

"I knew I had to leave Great Britain, I had to get away, and… figure out what I had become. And who I wanted to become." Draco took another sip of scotch and realized that Padma had already brought another glass. Draco talked about his travels to an ashram in India, a metal festival in Sweden, and a drug experience in the Amazon. The crowd in the Leaky Cauldron gradually thinned as the night wore on.

"I know my story doesn't excuse anything," he said, looking back and forth from Harry to Hermione, "but I needed you to know. I'm sorry and I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for the terrible things I did. And I'm starting with apologizing to all of the people I wronged." Draco stopped talking and downed the rest of his scotch. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the two people that he never thought he would ever see again. His vision swam slightly as the warmth from the scotch spread throughout his body.

Harry looked at Hermione as she regarded Draco. Draco felt like she was trying to see if he was sincere so he refused to look away. Harry leaned forward onto his elbows and casually stroked the side of Hermione's arm. Draco was acutely aware of this small movement and felt himself getting aroused as he imagined these beautiful people touching each other all over. Hermione saw the blush creep up Draco's neck and she finally broke eye contact, looking sideways at Harry. Harry brushed his hand up her bare arm and rested it on the back on her neck. Draco watched as Hermione's lips parted slightly and his cock became rock hard when she exhaled slightly. _What is happening here?_ Draco asked himself.

Harry sensed Draco twitch slightly to adjust and turned to look at the blond man.

"Draco," Harry said, "thank you for sharing your story with us. But I think it's time you hear ours."


	2. Chapter 2, 2 Years Earlier

Chapter 2

2 Years Earlier

"Harry, please let me in," Hermione pleaded from the other side of the door. "Don't make me use magic!" Harry snorted. She would be noble about not barging in on him at Grimmauld Place. It had been nearly two months since the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry had barely gone outside. From her owls, Harry had learned that Hermione had gone to Australia for her parents but they had decided to stay with their new practice in Australia. Ron moved to Romania to tame dragons with Charlie, a profession that seemed to help keep his hands busy and his mind blank. The Wizarding World had kept trying to get the Golden Trio to appear in news conferences but everyone had gone their separate ways, unable to deal with the massive death and destruction that they had witnessed. Separate ways, until recently.

"Harry, come on," Hermione said, impatience creeping into her voice. "I know you're in there, hiding from the world. We can talk about this."

But Harry didn't want to talk. He sat on the stairs and leaned his elbows on his knees, dropping his head into his hands. He could feel his hair falling down around his unshaven face. He couldn't remember the last time he showered, or even ate. His actions had destroyed so many other lives that he couldn't even-

"Alohomora!" The door unlocked and swung open violently to reveal one very pissed off Hermione Granger. Harry slowly got to his feet as Hermione stormed in and slammed the door behind her with a wave of her wand. Her eyes were blazing and her bushy hair whipped around her face as she approached Harry. But when she got closer, she stopped and tears sprang to her eyes as she took in his appearance.

"Oh Harry," she said, reaching out for him. Harry swayed slightly on his feet but allowed Hermione to envelop him in a bone crushing hug. He could hear her start to weep and his knees buckled. Together they sank to the floor and began to cry for their lost friends and their lost childhood.

Hermione had moved in to Grimmauld Place the next day. Harry was a shell of his former self. Hermione was surprised at how terrible he looked in such a short amount of time. Harry laid in bed all morning and only got up to move to the couch in the afternoon. Hermione spent the first week scrubbing the house from top to bottom. She spent the second week immersed in books on healing and depression. By week 3, she had had enough.

Harry Potter didn't know what hit him. Seconds would go by before he realized it was a pillow. And it was followed shortly by a long cold stream of water that soaked him to the bone. Harry got up sputtering and looked at a furious Hermione Granger with her wand pointed right at him.

"What the hell, Hermione?" His anger rising up to match her, he shook his arms and water went everywhere. She slowly lowered her wand and couldn't contain the smile that began to spread across her face.

"That was more fun than I expected it to be," she said and lifted her wand to him again. Harry glanced at the nightstand where he placed his wand last night. Hermione saw his glance and made a dive for his wand but Harry got there first. He alternately sprayed her with water and blasted her with a powerful wind. Hermione was laughing so hard, she couldn't get her own spell across her lips. Harry started laughing and dropped his wand arm. At the sight of Hermione's already bushy brown hair sticking almost straight up in the air, Harry fell to the floor in fits.

"I told you," Hermione said, "she's the best wizard mind healer. Her methods are… unconventional. But effective." Harry was back at Grimmauld Place and was pacing back and forth in front of Hermione. She turned and handed him a firewhiskey and took her own to the armchair in front of the fire. They had attended a few therapy sessions together over the past few months. They were both dealing with survivors guilt, but their raw pain had been replaced by a dull thud. There were still days that Harry couldn't get out of bed but Hermione had become a rock for him. She had recently suggested trying someone new, Dr. Antwerp. The female mind healer was testing a new, unconventional way of healing emotional scars.

"Unconventional?" Harry yelled. "The woman is a deviant!" He narrowed his eyes at Hermione when she started to laugh.

"Harry," Hermione began patiently, "She says to use sex and physical contact as a way toward emotional healing." Harry recognized the start of one of Hermione's lectures and moved to the other recliner with his firewhiskey, rolling his eyes dramatically. "She said that we need more human experiences like physical touch and sexual passion. It's better with someone you love and you know I love you." Harry stopped moving with his glass halfway to his mouth.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Oh honestly," Hermione looked over at him with a smile. "You are the most important person in my life. Of course I love you." At this Hermione looked contemplative. "I'm not sure if you are my forever partner, but I think we could look at this as two people caring deeply for each other. And going through a lot of the same childhood experiences. We could take care of each other and teach each other." Hermione blushed and looked away. Harry couldn't help but smile as he got to his feet. Always logical, with enough emotion to make her endearing. Harry knew he loved her too, but using sex to heal themselves? He reached for her hands as he stepped forward.

"Hermione," Harry said, "I love you." Her mouth turned into a half smile as she tilted her head to look up into his eyes. "I trust you and if you think we should do this, I'm in," Hermione threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll set the appointment!"


End file.
